Department of Health and Social Care

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to answer Question 102133, tabled by the Hon. Member for Edmonton on 12 October 2020.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to answer Question 105481, tabled by the Hon. Member for Edmonton on 19 October 2020.

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to answer Question 105483, tabled by the Hon. Member for Edmonton on 19 October 2020.

Edward Argar: I refer the hon. Member to the answers to Questions 102133, 105481 and 105483.

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to Question 151588, on Speech and Language Therapy, tabled on 9 February 2021 by the hon. Member for Swansea West.

Edward Argar: I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question 151588.

Members: Correspondence

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter dated 11 December 2020 from the hon. Member for West Lancashire, reference ZA54827, regarding the Government's £500 covid-19 self-isolation grant.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 14 April.

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter dated 3 December 2020 from the hon. Member for High Peak, reference RL10735.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member’s letter on 12 April.

Members: Correspondence

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter dated 8 January 2021 from the hon. Member for West Lancashire, reference ZA55025, on a constituent's covid-19 vaccine grouping.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 14 April.

Members: Correspondence

Robert Largan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter dated 27 November 2020 from the hon. Member for High Peak, reference RL15338.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 13 April.

Members: Correspondence

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter dated 25 January 2021 from the hon. Member for West Lancashire on the rollout of the covid-19 vaccine, reference ZA55223.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member’s letter on 12 April.

Coronavirus: Disease Control

Greg Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on advertising covid-19 restrictions.

Edward Argar: From 15 March to 19 April 2020, the Department spent £3,157,287 on advertising relating to COVID-19 restrictions, launching the ‘Stay At Home’ campaign. From 19 April 2020, responsibility for COVID-19 public information campaigns transferred to the Cabinet Office.

Members: Correspondence

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter dated 25 January 2021 from the hon. Member for West Lancashire on the rollout of the covid-19 vaccine, reference ZA55246.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member’s letter on 12 April.

Members: Correspondence

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for West Lancashire of 20 November 2020 on isolation payments, reference ZA54482.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 14 April.

Members: Correspondence

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for West Lancashire dated 29 January on a constituent's vaccine grouping, reference ZA55328.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 12 April.

Patients: Death

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Learning from Deaths programme, what plans he has to undertake a national inquiry into unresolved historical cases.

Ms Nadine Dorries: The Government has initiated inquiries and investigations in the past, where there has been evidence of serious harm relating to specific healthcare settings and there is an important opportunity for system-wide learning. We will continue to consider cases where there is merit and there is an opportunity for learning and improving the quality of care for patients. However, we have no plans to undertake a national inquiry into unresolved historical cases.

Members: Correspondence

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter from the hon. Member for West Lancashire of 27 October 2020 on Nightingale hospitals, reference ZA54243.

Edward Argar: We replied to the hon. Member on 12 April.

Coronavirus: Clinics

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) he and (b) his Ministers have visited a long covid clinic to date.

Edward Argar: My Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care visited University College London Hospital’s post-COVID-19 clinic service on 21 October 2020.

Patients: Death

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Learning from Deaths programme, what the timeframe is for the establishment of the new board; and when the first meeting of that board will take place.

Ms Nadine Dorries: We are now in the process of establishing the board and the purpose of its function. We will develop the details of its governance arrangements, timescales for implementation, family engagement and success criteria in due course.

Clinical Psychologists: Training

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to increase the number of clinical psychology training places beyond 2020-21.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Indicative figures in the NHS Mental Health Implementation Plan 2019/20 – 2023/24 show a planned increase of 2,520 clinical psychologist across mental health services by 2023/24. Health Education England (HEE) expanded clinical psychology training places by 25% in 2020-21, totalling 688 new entrants to English clinical psychology training - an increase of 137 on 2019/20 commissions. In 2021-22 HEE has commissioned an additional 226 new clinical psychology training places, totalling 914 subject to successful recruitment.

Patients: Death

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Learning from Deaths programme, what plans he has to publish a new framework for investigating deaths.

Ms Nadine Dorries: NHS England and NHS Improvement are currently piloting a new Patient Safety Incident Response Framework to replace the current Serious Incident Framework.

Coronavirus: Mental Health Services

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department is providing to local authorities to help people suffering from poor mental health as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

Ms Nadine Dorries: £15 million from the additional £500 million funding announced as part of the Spending Review in November 2020 will be invested in local authority areas in the most deprived parts of the country to help stimulate and boost prevention and early intervention services to support people who have been hardest hit by the pandemic. In 2021-22 the total public health grant to local authorities will be £3.324 billion. The grant will be ring-fenced for use on public health functions, including public mental health. This may include public mental health challenges arising directly or indirectly from COVID-19.

Epilepsy: Children and Young People

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to advise (a) schools, (b) colleges and (c) universities on the mental health needs of children and young people with epilepsy.

Ms Nadine Dorries: Each mental health support team is expected to advise schools and colleges on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people, including for those with epilepsy. They work alongside pre-existing mental health services and liaise with external specialist services to help children and young people receive the right support and stay in education.

Eating Disorders: Mental Health Services

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the finding in the report published in December 2020 by NHS Digital, entitled Health Survey for England 2019 Eating Disorders, that 16 per cent of adults screened positive for a possible eating disorder, what steps his Department is taking to (a) reduce waiting lists for adult eating disorders services and (b) ensure that provision of those services is prioritised following the covid-19 outbreak.

Ms Nadine Dorries: In 2021/22 the National Health Service will receive an additional £500 million to help to address the impacts of COVID-19, which will support people with a variety of mental health conditions, including eating disorders. This includes programmes to address waiting times for mental health services. As part of this funding, £58 million will be allocated to bring forward the expansion of integrated primary and secondary care for adults with severe mental illness, including eating disorders. As part of this, a four-week waiting time standard for adult community mental health services, including eating disorder services, is being piloted and considered as part of the clinically led review of NHS access standards.   In addition, NHS England has announced additional early intervention services for young people aged 16-25 years old with eating disorders in 18 areas across the country, so young adults seeking support could be contacted within 48 hours and begin treatment within two weeks.

Department for Education

Further Education and Vocational Education: Assessments

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to integrate increased levels of modular assessment in Further and Technical Education at (a) Level 3 and (b) lower levels.

Gillian Keegan: The department is reviewing post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below to ensure that every qualification approved for public funding has a distinct purpose, is high quality, and supports progression to positive outcomes.Our second stage consultation on level 3 advanced technical qualifications (https://consult.education.gov.uk/post-16-qualifications-review-team/review-of-post-16-qualifications-at-level-3/) closed on 31 January 2021, and our call for evidence (https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/post-16-study-at-level-2-and-below-call-for-evidence) on level 2 and below qualifications closed on 14 February 2021.In the level 3 consultation, we proposed that assessing a student’s competence at the end of a course (summative assessment) becomes a key feature of technical education.Summative assessment allows modular delivery of content but gives greater assurance that competence is achieved by assessing knowledge, skills, and behaviours once all learning has been completed. We are considering the circumstances under which it would appropriate for qualifications to diverge from this model.We are carefully reviewing the responses to the level 3 consultation and plan to publish the government response later in the spring. We are developing proposals for consultation on level 2 and below and are considering which design principles might best meet students’ needs.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Developing Countries: Climate Change

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the £11.6 billion committed by the Government to international climate finance between 2021-22 and 2025-26, how much and what proportion of that £11.6 billion the Government plans to spend in each financial year between 2021-22 and 2025-26.

James Duddridge: The Government is committed to doubling UK International Climate Finance to £11.6 billion over the next five years. No final decisions have yet been made on budget allocations.

Developing Countries: Health Services

Mrs Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much and what proportion of the UK's total Official Development Assistance budget was allocated to sexual and reproductive health and rights including family planning and reproductive, maternal, neonatal and child health as calculated using the (a) Muskoka 1 and (b) Muskoka 2 methodology in (i) 2017, (ii) 2018 and (iii) 2019.

Wendy Morton: All FCDO official aid spend can be found in the Statistic for International Development: UK Aid report at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/statistics-on-international-developmenta) The last published donor estimates based on Muskoka 1 cover 2002 to 2015 and can be found at: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(18)30276-6/fulltext#seccestitle10b) The latest Muskoka 2 donors estimates were published as part of the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual & Reproductive Rights in the Donor Delivering Report and cover 2016 to 2018.The report is available on: https://www.epfweb.org/node/90Musoka 2 estimates are not available for 2019 onwards due to Multilateral agencies' reporting timeframes and external data compilation.

Ministry of Defence

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Army’s Armoured Vehicle capacity.

Jeremy Quin: The Army, as outlined in the Defence Command Paper, is receiving significant and ongoing investment in its armoured capability. The new Boxer and Ajax, and the upgraded Challenger Main Battle Tank will make up the core of the Army's two future Heavy Brigade Combat Teams. We will be more capable against peer adversaries and integrated with our NATO Allies and partners.

Fleet Solid Support Ships: Procurement

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to issue the invitation to tender for the Fleet Solid Support Ships; and what steps he will take to ensure the use of British steel in those ships.

Jeremy Quin: The Contract Notice and Pre-Qualification Questionnaire is planned for issue in spring 2021 and consideration of the responses received will determine the exact date for issue of the Invitation To Negotiate. It is too early to say what the steel requirement for the Fleet Solid Support ships might be. Responsibility for sourcing steel for the ships will rest with the prime contractor, who will make their steel requirements known to the UK steel industry in line with Cabinet Office guidelines.

Patrol Craft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department classifies offshore patrol vessels as warships.

Jeremy Quin: Yes.

Shipping: Procurement

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) Royal Navy personnel, (b) Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel and (c) other civilians who will be part of the crew of the new Multi Role Ocean Surveillance ship.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the new Multi Role Ocean Surveillance ship for the Royal Navy will be (a) built in British shipyards, (b) built abroad, (c) reconfigured from an existing vessel in a British shipyard or (d) reconfigured from an existing vessel abroad.

Jeremy Quin: The new Royal Navy Multi Role Ocean Surveillance vessel announced in the Integrated Review is in its pre-concept phase; therefore, no decisions have yet been taken on the procurement approach nor the crewing model.

Type 31 Frigates

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of evaluation criteria for the Type 31 were attributed to social value.

Jeremy Quin: The evaluation criteria for the Type 31 programme required bidders to deliver a prosperity and exports strategy as part of the design and build contract. This strategy contains the contractor's commitment to deliver improvements in areas such as supply chain development, social welfare, skills and productivity enhancements, as well as exports. In addition to the specific requirement for a prosperity and exports strategy, prosperity benefits to the UK were inherent throughout the Type 31 evaluation criteria not least because of the requirement that the ships must be built in the UK, but also because of the emphasis placed on exportability.

Nuclear Submarines: Devonport Dockyard

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many retired Royal Navy nuclear submarines HMNB Devonport has capacity for.

Jeremy Quin: We anticipate that there will be capacity at HMNB Devonport for laid up submarines until the mid-2030s.

Minesweepers

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the retirement date is of the Royal Navy's mine hunters.

Jeremy Quin: I refer my right hon. Friend to the answers I gave on 7 December 2020 and 20 March 2021 to Questions 122598 and 172897 to the right hon. Member for North Durham (Kevan Jones). 172897 - Minesweepers (docx, 14.0KB)122598 - Minesweepers Decommissioning  (docx, 13.7KB)

Portsmouth Dockyard: Carbon Emissions

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment his Department has made of the proportion of his Department's overall emissions of HM Naval Base Portsmouth; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce emissions at that base to meet Greening Government Commitments.

Jeremy Quin: HM Naval Base Portsmouth is responsible for 3.2% of the total greenhouse gas emissions from Defence managed sites. The Base has seven major projects in hand to deliver energy efficiency measures and these projects will contribute to the ambition of achieving Net Zero Carbon at the site by 2030.

Ministry of Defence: Carbon Emissions

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how his Department measures its contribution towards the Government's emissions targets; and if his Department will publish what the volume of its carbon emissions have been by operational area in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Quin: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) annual energy consumption by fuel type and associated total carbon emissions for the current year and previous two years is published in the Energy and Carbon Annex to the MOD Annual Report and Accounts. MOD emissions from the defence estate and domestic business travel are reported through in Greening Government Commitment and include in the Public Sector element of the UK carbon budgets.

Armed Forces: Housing

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Government’s response to the Selous Report, Living in our Shoes – understanding the needs of UK Armed Forces families, published on 29 March 2021, how many applications from service personnel to carry out DIY improvements to their Service Family Accommodation have been (a) made and (b) granted in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Quin: The total number of DIY improvement applications received from Service personnel, in regards to their Service Family Accommodation, and subsequent approvals given is set out below. YearNumber of applicationsNumber of approved applications201922722620202252002021*10799 Data on applications for improvement works prior to 2019 is not held. * As at 14 April 2021

Defence: Infrastructure

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish details on the performance management framework included in the Future Defence Infrastructure Services Programme.

Jeremy Quin: The Future Defence Infrastructure Services (FDIS) programme is responsible for putting new arrangements in place for the future delivery of Facilities Management (FM) across the Defence Estate. A copy of Schedule 14 (Performance Management) for the National Accommodation Management Services (NAMS) and Regional Accommodation Management (RAMS) will be published in the Library of the House when the contracts have been awarded.

Armed Forces: Housing

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Government’s response to the Selous Report, Living in our shoes - Understanding the needs of UK armed forces families, published on 29 March 2021, how his Department plans to incentivise a move away from a fix-on-fail approach to a preventative maintenance philosophy.

Jeremy Quin: The new Future Defence Infrastructure Services (FDIS) contracts will support a move to a more planned and predictive maintenance regime, supported by a forward life-cycle replacement programme. The contracting model, which adopts the industry standard from the Services and Facilities Group of Building Engineering Services Association (SFG20), incentivises service efficiency and quality and introduces Price Per Property arrangements. These are aimed at encouraging suppliers to provide enduring and sustainable solutions which will be less expensive than repeated short-term fixes.

Singapore: Defence

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse has been of upgrades to the UK's defence footprint in Singapore over the last five years.

James Heappey: The cost of upgrading the UK's defence footprint in Singapore over the past five years has been £16.9 million.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether components for the F-35b aircraft manufactured in the US will be subject to ITAR.

Jeremy Quin: Items subject to ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations), including F-35B aircraft and components, are a matter for the United States Government. The categories of items covered by ITAR are published in the United States Munitions List.

Ministry of Defence: Intellectual Property

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which personnel will be placed in charge of the Intellectual Property strategies referred to on page 32 of the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy, published on 23 January 2021.

Jeremy Quin: Intellectual Property strategies will be the responsibility of the Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for each project and will be designed to meet the needs of the overall Acquisition Strategy for that project. The SRO will however take advice from Commercial and Technical Staff on the project requirements, and from the intellectual property specialists in the Defence Intellectual Property Rights team when constructing their IP Strategy. The IP strategy will also form part of the business case that is ultimately subject to approval by MOD's Investment Approvals Committee.

Ministry of Defence: Disclosure of Information

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what processes are in place for his Department to consult with industry before entering international arrangements with the potential to lead to the disclosure of industry-supplied information.

Jeremy Quin: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) will consider the industrial position carefully before entering any international arrangements with the potential to lead to the disclosure of industry-supplied information. The introduction of mandatory IP strategies as part of the DSIS will ensure that these issues are addressed for all projects from the earliest stages. MOD will engage with the relevant industry parties, in accordance with the terms of any relevant contract, wherever a disclosure of their information is under consideration, and will not make any such disclosure unless it has the right to do so or has obtained the prior agreement of the information owner.

Ministry of Defence: Intellectual Property

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the Intellectual Property strategies referred to on page 32 of the Government's Defence and Security Industrial Strategy, published on 23 March 2021.

Jeremy Quin: Intellectual Property strategies will form part of the department's overall commercial and project strategy and will be considered and refined during the business case approval process. These documents are internal to the Ministry of Defence and will not be published as they may contain sensitive information on the department's requirements and commercial position, or information relating to partners or third parties. However, information on the department's intellectual property requirements will be included in the invitation to tender documents issued for all contracts, and relevant details of any given intellectual property strategy will be released to Industry during the Early Market Engagement process wherever possible.

Indo-Pacific Region: Defence

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 5.22 on page 32 of his Department's report, Defence in a competitive age, CP411, published in March 2021, how the UK plans to make a bigger and more consistent contribution to the Five Power Defence Arrangements.

James Heappey: The UK takes its commitment to the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) very seriously. As part of our wider effort to strengthen the UK's defence cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, we will make a bigger and more consistent contribution to the Arrangements. This includes: our contribution to FPDA's programme of military exercises, our support for FPDA's HQ Integrated Area Defence System (HQ IADS), our participation in FPDA's governance structures, as well as our ongoing support for the evolution of the Arrangements to ensure they remain relevant.

Army: Employment

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the UK's security of the decision to reduce the number of troops in the Army; and if he will make that decision subject to a vote in the House.

James Heappey: The protection of our people, homeland, and democracy is the first duty of any government and so we are investing over £24 billion to reform and renew our Armed Forces for this age of global and systemic competition, modernising and integrating our forces across sea, land, air, space, and cyberspace like never before.In an era of robotics and artificial intelligence, we need to stop thinking about the strength of the Army simply in terms of numbers and focus on how successfully it can achieve what we ask of it. We have therefore designed a force that is more balanced, and ultimately more effectively matched to the threat, now and in the future. The Army will be better connected, faster, and pound-for-pound more lethal than ever before. It will be integrated across domains, with allies in NATO, and beyond.

Department for Work and Pensions

Disability: Coronavirus

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to consult (a) people with disabilities and (b) representative groups on any developments of her Department's strategic objectives following the covid-19 outbreak.

Justin Tomlinson: I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 23rd March 2021 to question number 169969.

Employment: Disability

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the number of companies that are signed up to the Disability Confident Scheme; and what assessment she has made of the effect of that scheme on employment rates for disabled people.

Justin Tomlinson: As of 31st March 2021, over 20,000 employers had signed up to the Disability Confident (DC) scheme covering over 11 million employees. Disability Confident is a learning journey that provides employers with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to attract, recruit, retain and progress disabled people in the workplace. Employers are encouraged to publically report on disability employment and mental health using the Voluntary Reporting Framework (VRF), but are not required to provide government with this data.

Coronavirus: Disability

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of recognising long covid as a disability.

Justin Tomlinson: Given Long COVID is an emerging condition, the Government cannot comment whether consideration should be given to its addition to the list of conditions classed as a disability under the Equality Act 2020. An individual is defined as disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a “substantial” and “long-term” negative effect on their ability to carry out normal daily activities. The Act defines “long-term” as where an impairment has lasted, or is likely to last for at least 12 months, or where the impairment is likely to last for the rest of a person’s life. “Substantial” on the other hand is defined as an impairment that is more than minor or trivial. COVID-19 is a new disease and therefore it is not yet clear what the physical, psychological and rehabilitation needs will be for those experiencing long-term effects of the virus. The Government is funding ambitious and comprehensive research into the long-term physical and mental health effects of COVID-19 to better understand how to help and support those affected, with the most recent research call published on 25 March 2021 by the National Institute of Health Research/UK Research Institute.

Employment: Epilepsy

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of people with epilepsy entering employment.

Justin Tomlinson: Government’s Plan for Jobs provides new funding to ensure more people, including those with health conditions get tailored Jobcentre Plus support to help them find work and to build the skills they need to get into work. This includes £895m for 13,500 additional Work Coaches who have been successfully recruited. The Restart Programme will support individuals who have been unemployed for over 12 months and through regular, personalised support providers will work with participants to identify the best way to support them into sustained employment.From April 2021, the Disability Employment Advisors (DEA) Direct Support will be strengthened to include an element of Direct Support to customers with health condition or disability who require additional support over and above the ESA and Universal Credit core offer. DEA Direct Support will deliver work focussed bespoke support to move individuals with a disability or health condition towards a work outcome. If employees with epilepsy need workplace support beyond the cost of reasonable adjustment, Access to Work can help. Access to Work is supporting thousands more people with disabilities and health conditions than ever before. In 2019, Access to Work funded tailored and flexible support for 43,000 people, a 20% increase on the previous year. We also, through Disability Confident, provide employers with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to attract, recruit, retain and develop disabled people in the workplace.

Sign Language

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of giving British Sign Language (BSL) full legal recognition; and whether the Government plans to grant full legal recognition to BSL.

Justin Tomlinson: On 18 March 2003 the UK government formally recognised that British Sign Language (BSL) is a language in its own right. Provision for accessing services by users of BSL are covered by the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty. Existing equality legislation already means employers, service providers and public bodies have to provide services in BSL and other formats when it is reasonable to do so. The Public Sector Equality Duty requires public bodies to have due regard to the needs of all those with protected characteristics.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Fishing Vessels: Humberside

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he plans to take to help secure (a) existing investment in the distant waters fishing fleet on Humberside and (b) future investment in that fleet and associated infrastructure; and what comparative assessment he has made between (i) the combined value of those investments and (ii) the cost of establishing the proposed freeport across the Humber ports.

Victoria Prentis: Significant funding is being made available by government to improve the infrastructure needed for the fishing industry, improve sustainability and help it adapt as we move away from the CFP. The Government has announced £32.7 million in funding to support the seafood sector which meets the Government’s manifesto commitment to maintain funding for the sector. The new domestic funding scheme in England, the Fisheries and Seafood Scheme, opened on 6 April. This scheme will support the long-term sustainable growth of the seafood sector and includes support to deliver improvements to vessels and to support port infrastructure. In addition to this support, on Christmas Eve the Prime Minister announced a further £100 million that will support investment to modernise and rejuvenate the sector. This will include funding for infrastructure projects that support the development and modernisation of ports, harbours, and landing sites across the UK in order to land, process and market more sustainably managed fish. The Government has also safeguarded investment in the sector by making up to £23 million available to support seafood businesses affected by the impact of Covid-19 and new trading conditions. With regards to the proposed freeport, no comparative assessment has been conducted. However, freeports will play a significant role in boosting trade, attracting inward investment and driving productive activity across the UK. This will level up communities across the country through increased employment opportunities. This is more important than ever as we begin to recover from the ongoing economic impacts of Covid-19.

Home Office

Asylum: Gibraltar

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on using Gibraltar to host a UK asylum processing centre.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on using the Isle of Man to host a UK asylum processing centre.

Chris Philp: We must consider every possible option to prevent people from putting their lives at risk to make perilous journeys – deterring abuse of the asylum system and criminality associated with it. As part of that work, we have looked at what a whole host of other countries do in order to inform a plan for the UK.Specific discussions in respect of identifying a particular place for asylum processing would always be done in close partnership with that country jurisdiction.

Asylum

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2020 to Question 11509 on Asylum, if he will publish the terms of reference for the completed review on the way asylum claims on the basis of religion and LGBT+ grounds are assessed.

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2020 to Question 11509 on Asylum, if his Department will publish the (a) findings of the review into the way asylum claims on the basis of religion and LGBT+ grounds are assessed and (b) action plan.

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 February 2020 to Question 11509, on Asylum, what progress his Department has made since that action plan was formed on the way that asylum claims on the basis of religion and LGBT+ grounds are assessed.

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to Answer of 11 February 2020 to Question 11509, on Asylum, what steps his Department have taken to consult representatives of (a) the Church of England, (b) the Catholic Church and (c) other faith based organisations on the review and action plan in respect of asylum claims on the basis of religion.

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to Answer of 11 February 2020 to Question 11509, on Asylum, what steps his Department has taken to consult representatives of LGBT+ organisations on the review and action plan in respect of asylum claims on the basis of sexuality.

Chris Philp: The UK has a proud record of providing protection to individuals fleeing persecution based on their religious beliefs, sexual orientation and gender identity and are committed to delivering an asylum system that is responsive to all forms of persecution.We have previously worked closely with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International Freedom of Religion or Belief and associated stakeholders, to produce a specialist training package designed to ensure that where religion or belief is raised in an asylum claim, decision makers appropriately consider all the available evidence. The course has now been rolled out to all relevant staff and we will continue to update this as and when required, working with relevant parties.The Home Office continue to work with organisations specialising in sexual orientation/gender identity to further our work for LGBT+ people, including the development of a new interview training workshop that is being developed in consultation with UK Lesbian Gay Immigration Group (UKLGIG). It is hoped that, if successful, this training will be rolled out in the next few months.Updated policy guidance on how to approach religious based claims and sexual orientation has been published, including guidance on the need to ensure appropriate and sensitive questions are asked during asylum interviews.Our processes are underpinned by a robust framework of safeguards and quality checks, ensuring that claims based on LGBT+ issues are properly considered, decisions are sound, and that protection is granted to those who genuinely need it.We do not have any plans to publish the findings of this internal review.

Asylum

Imran Ahmad Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans are in place to communicate immigration reforms to potential asylum seekers in the most commonly spoken native languages of those seeking asylum.

Chris Philp: We are finalising communication plans to ensure the proposed measures are appropriately communicated to the public, key stakeholders and those affected by the changes. We are currently running an organised immigration crime deterrence campaign which directly speaks to migrants in their native languages. We are preparing the next phase of the campaign, including how it can reflect and support the New Plan for Immigration.

Northern Ireland Office

Terrorism: Northern Ireland

Colum Eastwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will commission a review into the accuracy of information given by Government Departments in the aftermath of the 1971 bombing of McGurk's Bar in Northern Ireland.

Mr Robin Walker: The bombing of McGurk’s bar was a terrible tragedy. The investigation by the Police Ombudsman of Northern Ireland found that erroneous suggestions that republican paramilitaries were responsible were made in the immediate aftermath of the explosion, noting that "Inconsistent police briefings, some of which inferred that victims of the bombing were culpable in the atrocity, caused the bereaved families great distress, which has continued for many years." The Police Ombudsman acknowledged that the prevailing situation in Northern Ireland at the time presented significant challenges to policing but concluded that the RUC investigation was not proportionate to the magnitude of the incident, which was one of the biggest losses of life during any incident of 'The Troubles' until the bombing of Omagh in 1998. The Police Ombudsman also noted that "The tragedy for families, survivors and police is that the present process of seeking information, truth and justice is fragmented and inadequate." The Government remains committed to introducing legislation to address these issues and delivers for all those affected by the legacy of Northern Ireland’s past.

Department for International Trade

Question

Alex Davies-Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential effect of her Department’s trade policy on the protection of animal welfare.

Elizabeth Truss: I am proud of our world-leading animal welfare standards and these will be upheld throughout our trade negotiations. We have established the Trade and Agriculture Commission in law, which will provide independent scrutiny of the effect on animal welfare our trade deals.

Question

Jack Brereton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to improve access for UK exporters to high growth global markets.

Graham Stuart: As an independent trading nation, we are building strong trading relationships across the world and removing market access barriers for British businesses. We have secured trade agreements with 66 non-EU countries, worth £217bn in 2019. We have formally applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, an agreement which removes tariffs on 95% of goods between members and will deepen UK access to key markets around the world, from Mexico to Malaysia.

Question

Mark Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to improve access for UK exporters to high growth global markets.

Graham Stuart: As an independent trading nation, we are building strong trading relationships across the world and removing market access barriers for British businesses. We have secured trade agreements with 66 non-EU countries, worth £217bn in 2019. We have formally applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, an agreement which removes tariffs on 95% of goods between members and will deepen UK access to key markets around the world, from Mexico to Malaysia.

Question

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions she has had with UK trade partners on inserting clauses on environmental standards into future trade deals.

Greg Hands: We are seeking environment provisions with all partners we are currently negotiating with, to ensure future trade is sustainable and upholds the UK’s high environmental standards. The precise details of any free trade agreement are a matter for formal negotiations, and I would not seek to pre-empt these discussions.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Musicians: EU Countries

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress has been made on bilateral negotiations with individual EU member states on reciprocal touring rights for musicians.

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which Minister is leading on negotiations to establish reciprocal touring rights for UK and EU musicians.

Caroline Dinenage: As the Prime Minister has said, we’re working flat out with our friends in Member States to look at how to make touring in the EU easier. We are engaging with Member States to improve their guidance around entry and work. DCMS is working closely with the FCDO and other government departments on an engagement strategy with EU Member States. As part of this, DCMS Ministers are speaking to our Heads of Missions in EU countries. The UK has significantly more generous arrangements for touring professionals than many Member States, and should Member States be willing to change their rules to match ours we will have those discussions and encourage them to do so. Where there are issues around the clarity of Member States’ immigration rules we will also raise these with the European Commission, and our door is open if the Commission is willing to reconsider our proposals made during negotiations.

Social Media: Disinformation

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to reduce misinformation on social media.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government takes the issue of disinformation very seriously and DCMS is leading work across Government to tackle it. In response to the harmful disinformation and misinformation relating to Covid-19 we stood up the Cross-Whitehall Counter Disinformation Unit on 5 March 2020, which brings together cross-Government monitoring and analysis capabilities. We are working with social media platforms to support the introduction of systems and processes that promote authoritative sources of information, and to help them identify and take action to remove misinformation, in line with their terms and conditions. We have seen positive steps taken by social media platforms to curtail the spread of harmful and misleading narratives related to Covid-19 and promote the Government and NHS messaging on the matter. However, there is clearly more to do, and we will continue to put pressure on platforms to ensure that their policies and enforcement are fit for purpose, whilst still respecting freedom of expression. The Online Safety Bill will bring in a new legal duty of care on how online companies will work in practice, giving them new responsibilities towards their users. The Bill will tackle dangerous disinformation and misinformation, such as misleading content about coronavirus vaccines, and will help bridge the gap between what companies say they do to address harmful content, and what happens in practice.

British Red Cross: Finance

Scott Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the amount of Government funding donated to the British Red Cross Charity in the last ten years.

Matt Warman: The Government does not make donations to charities. Such funding, whether for a specific restricted purpose or unrestricted, would be classified as a grant. The Charity Commission for England and Wales publishes charities’ annual returns from the last five reporting years. This includes a breakdown of funding that includes income from government grants and income from government contracts. The most recently published annual return covers the financial period up to 31 December 2019. The British Red Cross Society has received £147 million in government grants in total over the past five reporting years. A breakdown by financial period end date is below: 31/12/2015 - £32.5 million31/12/2016 - £22.3 million31/12/2017 - £33.7 million31/12/2018 - £22.1 million31/12/2019 - £36.4 million The British Red Cross Society also receives income from government contracts. Over the five reporting years described above, the British Red Cross Society received a total of £226.3 million income from government contracts.This information is published on the Charity Commission for England and Wales website here: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-search/-/charity-details/220949/financial-history